Currently, pipe and other conduit used in various industrial applications including refineries are insulated by wrapping insulation in a continuous overlapping pattern. When the insulation approaches the location near where the pipe is supported, it must be stopped and restarted before and after the pipe support to maintain the load bearing characteristics of the pipe support. In this region where the pipe is supported, the wrapped insulation is positioned about the pipe in increased diameters of insulation to provide adequate insulation and maintain the proper load bearing characteristics. This is wasteful and creates areas of compromised insulation prone to thermal leakage and breaking of the insulation due to movement of the pipes caused by stresses placed on the pipe due to fluids or gases moving through the pipe. There thus exists a need to configure flexible insulation material in a manner to withstand compressive forces while maintaining a low profile about a pipe or other longitudinal member. In addition current methods of insulating tank bases require the use of very thick insulation that increases the overall height of a given tank. The use of the new insulation material reduces the tank height thus saving significantly on the materials required to build the tank.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is shown a reinforced insulation material having one or more sheets of insulation material having a plurality of voids in each sheet, wherein the sheets are operably connected to each other in a layered configuration, the voids on each sheet are oriented in a mating pattern that generally forms cylindrical regions on the layered configuration, and a synthetic material inserted into the voids of each sheet to connect the sheets to each other.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is shown a reinforced insulation material having a plurality of sandwiched sheets of insulation material, each sheet having a plurality of voids, the voids on each sheet oriented in a mating pattern to the voids on the other sheets to form cylindrical voids when connected together and a synthetic material inserted into the voids of each sheet to connect the sheets.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is shown a reinforced insulation material having one or more sheets of insulation material having a void in each sheet, wherein the sheets are operably connected to each other, the void on each sheet oriented in a mating pattern to the void on said other sheets to form a three dimensional void when connected together, and a synthetic material inserted into the voids of each sheet to connect the sheets.